The Sower
April-June 2008
Michael
& Lisa Shuttlesworth Ÿ SZOLNOK 5000, Konstantin utca 8. II/5., Hungary
mlshutt@yahoo.com Ÿ http://web.axelero.hu/shuttlesworth
A Time for Everything
As the wise man said, “there is a
time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Although many of you may already know, in the
winter we made the difficult decision that it is time for us return to the
United States. There were many factors
that contributed to our decision, but to return for the well being of our
family was one of our greatest concerns.
We also believe it is time for the Szolnok church to stand on her own.
It will not be an easy change for
the Szolnok congregation and we ask your continued prayers in this matter. We plan to return to the U.S. in the fall of
2009 which gives the Szolnok church more than a year to prepare for our
departure. We pray that the members will
take the opportunities presented between now and then and continue to learn, to
grow and to accept the responsibilities they have previously been encouraged to
accept.
It will not be an easy move for our
family either. Although we look forward
to being near our families again, it will also be difficult to transition back
to American culture. We have been
displaced from our own culture for many years and won’t exactly be moving
“home.” We ask for your prayers as we
continue to work with the church in Szolnok, prepare to move and search for a
home and job in the U.S.
We welcome any questions you might
have about our decision or our future plans.
If you wish to contact us, our e-mail address is: mlshutt@yahoo.com
Youth Outreach
We are always looking for ways to
reach the youth and to find things to do with them that are not part of our
normal routine. We don't usually show
them movies so we decided that watching the movie “Facing the Giants” with them
might be a good thing, but we had our doubts.
If you haven’t seen or heard of “Facing the Giants”, you should
understand that it is about everyday people trying to live by faith. It is a touching drama that is very focussed
on the message of trusting in God. Since
it was so far removed from what the teens usually watch (the worst of American
Hollywood), we had our concerns about showing it to the kids. Would it hold their attention? Would they understand the meaning?
It didn’t take long to get them
excited about watching a movie and we even had better attendance than what we
usually do. The movie started and almost
everyone watched intently and every person there reacted very positively to
it. After the movie I asked questions
and we talked about the message of the film.
It was such a hit that we organized a second showing for those who
missed the first one and for a couple of people that wanted to see it again.
Hungarians on the
Move
In living here, we’ve encountered
many interesting cultural differences.
Americans make up a very mobile society.
Before the gas prices started rising dramatically, Americans thought nothing
about hopping in a car and traveling many miles, just because. Most Americans also think very little of
making a move to a different state. For
Hungarians, the idea of moving somewhere else to work is still new, at least
for those in our city. I remember
talking with a Hungarian friend my age about whether or not he should accept a
job that was 4 hours away from Szolnok, essentially on the other side of
Hungary. The job had excellent benefits
and was a much better situation than where he was currently working. The downside was the distance from
family. Why he would hesitate over a
much better job because it was only 4
hours away was a foreign idea to me. Times have begun to change since this conversation
took place and Hungarian society is becoming more mobile.
Unfortunately, this new mobility
has impacted the church in negative ways.
In a congregation with several hundred people the loss of one individual
or a family is not felt in the same way as in a congregation of 20. Recently one of our faithful leaders moved to
England to work. While we were all happy
for him, a large hole was left that will not be easily filled. We also lose many students once they go to
university. University life, the promise
of jobs in other cities after graduation and the lack of churches where they
attend university are all factors that work against our students staying
faithful to the Lord. The situation with
the students makes us particularly sad because they bring so much vibrancy to
the congregation.
Mobility also impacts evangelistic
efforts. About 90% of all the best adult
and family contacts we’ve had in terms of interest in the Lord, growth in
faith, and growth in relationships have moved somewhere else. They begin to grow closer to Christ, we
develop a relationship with them, they are introduced to the church and then
they tell us of plans to move to Budapest, Sweden or Canada.
The mobility of society has one
good side. The seeds that are planted
will hopefully spread as people move.
While it is difficult for the growth of the local church and for us to
let people go, we must trust that the Lord remains faithful to his
promises. He said that his word “will
not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the
purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah
55:10,11
Open and Sincere
We’ve learned a lot from living and working in Hungary. The contrast in cultures and in the
relationships people have with each other has helped us see some things very
differently. We hope that when we leave
we will be able to take the positive things we’ve learned and apply them in our
new home. One thing we have learned is
the necessity of being open and sincere about our faith.
Unfortunately, in our American
culture Christianity and our faith in God have developed into a taboo
subject. Many of us would rather avoid
it than openly discuss it. Perhaps we
are afraid of having to defend what we believe.
Maybe we are afraid of potential conflict or persecution. Maybe it’s just easier to remain quiet and
keep it to ourselves rather than have our pride hurt by other people’s
judgements of us. Maybe we just don’t
have the time to talk about it with our neighbor or colleague. Whatever the excuse, we generally are not
very open in talking with others about our faith.
This does not seem to be a current
problem in the Hungarian culture.
Hungarians will discuss their faith, or lack of it, just as they would
any other subject. Even if we don’t know
a person well, they will tell us what they believe about God, good or bad. We even experience this attitude in the
church, which we see as a positive thing.
Sometimes we have visitors that are quite open about what they
believe. One regular visitor often
expresses his thoughts, no matter how strange they may seem to others. Among our members, one person often comes to
me regarding things that are said or not said during worship that he believes
needs to be corrected. In both cases,
this attitude of openness and sincerity creates many opportunities for the
other members, as well as for us, to encourage others in their faith and to
teach biblical concepts. When the result
is a person with a stronger faith and a stronger biblical foundation, we are
reminded that an openness and sincerity in our faith is what is needed to bring
others to Christ.
The Shuttlesworths
In April we received the news that
our baby boy was waiting for us in Abilene.
Considering the difficulties we had with Caleb’s adoption, we really had
not anticipated receiving the call so quickly. As soon as we were able to make
all the necessary arrangements we left to go get our new son, Sean. Sean was born on February 28th and
so was only 6 weeks old when we saw him in person for the first time. We stayed in the U.S. for a couple of weeks
so that our families had the opportunity to meet Sean and to get his passport. Having a little one has definitely changed
life for all of us but we are all adapting and adjusting. Caleb loves his little brother and takes his
job as big brother very seriously. He
has been a big help to us and can’t wait till Sean is big enough to play
with. We are all doing well and are
looking forward to introducing you to our newest family member in the fall when
we are on furlough.
In
March we enjoyed a visit from Ed and Pam Mosby who are directors with the China
Now program. They were visiting their
daughter in Prague and thought they’d come see us in Hungary while they were on
this side of the world. We had an
encouraging visit with them and thankful that they took the time to come see
us.
Prayer Partners
We are very thankful for:
Ÿ
Our precious sons, Caleb and Sean.
Ÿ
Our friends, family and supporters who continue
to pray for us and encourage us.
Ÿ
All the wonderful ways that the Lord takes care
of our needs.
Please pray:
Ÿ
For the success of the children’s Bible camp at
the end of July.
Ÿ
For the Szolnok congregation as they prepare to
continue their service to the Lord without missionaries.
Ÿ
That the Lord will raise up leaders in the
Szolnok church and that the members will be open about sharing the Good News
with others.
Ÿ
That we can stay focused on the work at hand and
not be distracted by future plans.
Ÿ
That the Lord will provide a job for Michael and
a good home for our family when we return in 2009.
Thank you!
